To honor their work in developing robot-assisted surgical simulators and training tools, Khurshid A. Guru, MD, Director of Robotic Surgery at Roswell Park and University at Buffalo Clinical Assistant Professor of Urology, and Thenkurussi “Kesh” Kesavadas, PhD, UB Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, will receive the Faculty Entrepreneur Award atUB Partners Day on June 3.

The award recognizes faculty members who have developed an idea or invention into a product or service that benefits society and improves quality of life.

Guru and Kesavadas co-founded Simulated Surgical Systems, LLC, and developed simulators designed to reduce surgical error and make robot-assisted surgical education more accessible and affordable.

Guru, one of the few fellowship-trained robotic surgeons in the eastern United States, led a team in developing the robotic cystectomy program at Roswell Park, performing the first one in Western New York in 2005. Robot-assisted surgery is now an option for many patients with gynecologic, thoracic and gastrointestinal cancers, as well as some non-cancerous conditions. In addition to 1,000 surgeries for prostate cancer, Roswell Park has performed more cystectomies (removal of the bladder) than any center in the world.

Kesavadas serves as founder and director of the UB Virtual Reality Laboratory, and is a faculty member in engineering and an adjunct faculty member at Roswell Park.

UB Partners Day will take place at the Buffalo Niagara Convention Center from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. In addition to the awards program, the event will feature workshops, speakers and showcase exhibits.